


light

by AppleFlavoredKitkats



Series: dream smp war [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: (between Niki and Wilbur), (note: this is set post pet war), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Animal Death, Arguing, Crying, Dream SMP War, Dream Smp, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Loneliness, Minecraft, Platonic Relationships, Post-Dream SMP War, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:35:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26447188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AppleFlavoredKitkats/pseuds/AppleFlavoredKitkats
Summary: “Are you going to speak or are you just going to waste my time?” Wilbur spat, and Niki slightly winced at the harsh words. Everything within Niki told her to shout, to berate Wilbur, to remind him of how hypocritical he has become, but looking at the grimness that had filled his eyes, Niki knew she was not going to achieve anything meaningful if she remained any longer.With a snarl, Niki merely pushed Wilbur away, not realizing that she had accidentally smacked a brewery stand off one of the poorly constructed cobblestone tables as she exited hurriedly. She didn’t care if Wilbur wasn’t going to speak to her anymore, she didn’t care that she might have possibly awoken Tommy, she didn’t care that the brewery stand was slowly spilling an unfinished potion of harming onto the ground that Tommy and Wilbur stood in.There was barely any care left in her heart for the higher-ups of L’Manberg.To be fair, it didn’t seem like they had any care left for her or the other L’Manbergians either.or, Fundy has been exiled by Wilbur and Tommy right as Niki returned home, and Niki is absolutely furious.
Relationships: Niki | Nihachu & Floris | Fundy
Series: dream smp war [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1922524
Comments: 7
Kudos: 163





	light

**Author's Note:**

> hi ho!!
> 
> this will be something different from what i typically write, since man, i didn't think i'd write about semi-realistically roleplayed minecraft revolutionary wars in 2020 but here i am. i thought that there has been a severe lack of dream smp war fics about what has happened after the war, especially during the pet war, so i decided to fix that right up!
> 
> fundy has been a real underrated member of the smp war even if he's been having a great character arc in his most recent streams rn, and i just wanted to write about it because the pet war has so much fic potential. since i adored his dynamic with niki the most, i decided to write something about their friendship. also, niki's quite underrated too, so i hope i did her justice in this fic!!
> 
> i do NOT want anyone to perceive this as romantic; this is purely a platonic friendship and i'd feel uncomfortable if someone shipped them.
> 
> lastly, i did some minor revisions to the smp war plots to make it seem more realistic! beelloon's kinda dead in this one, and wilbur is kinda evil. idk the relationship between wilbur and niki in this au but in this fic, they kinda hate each other now so idk, lmao. just enjoy what i give and go with whatever shit i came up with!
> 
> (also no beta, we die like fungi and skechers. italicized text means a somewhat flashback to what happened earlier in the day)
> 
> **  
> _tw: hurt/comfort, war mention, injuries, blood mention, corrupted politicians, breakdowns, and a somewhat unsympathetic!wilbur_  
>  **  
> 

Sometimes, Niki doubted L’Manberg was the same nation that fought for their independence viciously during the war. Niki fully understood that once a certain group gained the power they had forever longed for, there was a chance of change, a chance of someone to be blinded by pride and hunger for even more power. It has happened with every nation she’s travelled to— every kingdom, every village— all of its leaders succumbed to thirsting for power in one way or another. 

She didn’t know why she had expected differently for L’Manberg. Admittedly, she might have been biased because she was technically involved in the founding of their nation (despite her minimal contributions), but knowing how passionate and determined Wilbur and Tommy were during the revolutionary war made her really believe in the idea that there  _ can _ actually be a nation that’s safe, that she can feel protected in.

Boy, was she  _ wrong _ .

The blue-grey clouds that whorled above Niki were very fitting for the atmosphere that had dispersed across the Dream SMP. The skies acted as if it wanted to remind every member of the kingdom of how pathetic they have become. Each person living in these woeful lands have minds similar to the murky skies above: clouded with darkness and extreme hopelessness. 

It made Niki’s chest ache, really. The clouds above only emphasized the wickedness L’Manberg indulged in as shadows casted over the damaged blackstone walls that surrounded the area. Niki took one glance at the place she once called home before looking away shamefully, not wanting Tommy or Wilbur to discover that she had disregarded the Dream SMP’s curfew to sneakily yet dangerously trek across the lands in the hopes to find a certain someone.

  
  


//

  
  


_ Niki had been away from the Dream SMP for just a short amount of time, travelling to different villages nearby to collect enough supplies for the new bakery she wanted to establish. Living near mountains and oceans can sometimes be a struggle as it always felt like their kingdom was so isolated from the others despite its high ranks. _

_ When she returned home with a full inventory of cocoa beans and sugar cane, she didn’t quite expect to find Tubbo nervously fiddling with a loose string from his uniform in hand, sitting on a couch inside her home. The young blond appeared to be extremely restless as his clothes were incredibly wrinkled, similar to the dark circles beneath his eyes. As Niki carefully placed her backpack on the oak table in her kitchen, she wondered how it was even possible that the youngest men of L’Manberg looked incredibly old despite how young they were. _

_ Tubbo eventually turned around once he caught sound of Niki’s presence, releasing a breath of relief once he had spotted her. As Niki removed her disheveled coat and hung it on the staircase’s railing, Tubbo immediately approached her with a heavy look of concern on his face. _

_ “Niki! Niki-- oh my God, Niki, you won’t believe what just happened while you were away.” Tubbo spoke in a frantic tone, his hands flailing everywhere as he talked. Niki quirked a worried eyebrow at him, somewhat conflicted on whether or not she wanted to hear about what she had missed. _

_ “Did-- did something bad happen--” _

_ “Everyone has gone nuts, man,” Tubbo exclaimed with the most crestfallen look on his face, “I mean, you know about Big Q running for our president, right? Apparently, George is his flippin’ running mate, man, and--” _

_ “Th--wait,  _ the _ George?” _

_ “Yes,  _ the _ George! Which other George would there be?” Tubbo said, “And that’s not even the worst part. I-- erm,” Tubbo gulped nervously as he slightly flinched, most likely recalling something terrible that happened, “Well, you know, it’s obvious that there’s something wrong with L’Manberg if I’m seeking shelter here, and uhm, I-- I don’t know how to explain it--” _

_ “Just spit it out, Tubbo--” _

_ “Tommy and Wilbur decided that they’re exiling Fundy from L’Manberg, Niki.” _

  
  


_ // _

  
  


Curling her fingers around the raven-colored coat that hugged her body, Niki tried her best to remain silent as hostile mobs began spawning atop the unlit buildings that surrounded the pathways. It was such a hassle that some of the newcomers have abandoned some of their architectural projects in the middle of a highly used pathway-- there wouldn’t be a day in their kingdom wherein a person would peacefully walk by and not get attacked by different types of creatures all at once. Fortunately for Niki, she managed to remember some brewery lessons from Wilbur and had been able to create a potion of invisibility despite the limited materials she had. Tubbo also provided an extra hand, helping Niki on her small quest as he luckily had some leftover materials on hand.

Once she made sure that there was no Dream SMP member around to spot her, Niki drank the potion swiftly, making sure to pinch her nose as she did to ignore the foul taste. Before she could even try reacting to the potion’s atrocious flavor, Niki watched her body flicker as the invisibility potion began kicking in. She only had about three minutes to sprint to Fundy before the potion weared off, and she wasn’t risking any to second dilly-dally around.

  
  


//

  
  
  


_ “Wilbur, what is going  _ on _ with  _ you _?” Niki questioned the L’Manbergian president softly and hesitantly, not wanting to wake Tommy who was sleeping at the back of the van. “You just-- You can’t just-- Wil, this is kind of getting out of hand.” Niki said, eyebrows knitted together harshly.  _

_ Wilbur still refused to gaze back at her, back leaning against the tarnished walls of the van. Niki made a mental reminder to fix the van as soon as possible, but she can’t do that, not unless Wilbur stopped making terrible decisions for his nation left and right. While Wilbur still remained silent as he slightly massaged his temples with his bandaged fingers, Niki noticed him glance at her for a mere millisecond. _

_ Despite it being a short amount of time, Niki felt chills crawl up her spine as she and Wilbur exchanged glances for the first time tonight. There was something unrecognizable with Wilbur’s piercing gaze, but Niki swore she had seen this same look before… just not on Wilbur.  _

_ “I mean, it has been getting out of hand for some time, hasn’t it?” Wilbur replied, and the way he enunciated his words felt like a warning signal for Niki to tread lightly in this conversation. _

_ “That no excuse to- to- to kick Fundy out!” Niki exclaimed, hands balling up into a fist as she placed it against her chest, “You’re losing your people because you--” _

_ “I did what I had to do, Niki-- Fundy was…” Wilbur sighed, and that unfamiliar yet very familiar eyes of his gazed back at Niki, “Fundy has been acting very immaturely lately-- he’s caused a lot of tyranny that has been against our beliefs as L’Manbergians and I had to take direct action.” Wilbur spoke, voice unwavering as if nothing he said meant anything to him. _

_ Niki looked at him wide-eyed, unsure of what to say because of how perplexed she was at Wilbur’s statements. She remembered Wilbur proudly announcing Fundy was the child he was proud of, his sun, the only person who could radiate such joy and happiness that couldn’t ever be replicated.  _

_ But looking at Wilbur’s eyes, Niki realized that it was devoid of all color. Wilbur hadn’t just rejected his own son, his light, but he chose to blind himself, succumbing to whatever darkness lived within him all along. _

_ Niki could even say that he recognized the same eyes on Dream when she spotted him removing his broken mask from a distance during the war. _

_ Both were empty, soulless, and above all, power-hungry. _

_ “Are you going to speak or are you just going to waste my time?” Wilbur spat, and Niki slightly winced at the harsh words. Everything within Niki told her to shout, to berate Wilbur, to remind him of how hypocritical he has become, but looking at the grimness that had filled his eyes, Niki knew she was not going to achieve anything meaningful if she remained any longer.  _

_ With a snarl, Niki merely pushed Wilbur away, not realizing that she had accidentally smacked a brewery stand off one of the poorly constructed cobblestone tables as she exited hurriedly. She didn’t care if Wilbur wasn’t going to speak to her anymore, she didn’t care that she might have possibly awoken Tommy, she didn’t care that the brewery stand was slowly spilling an unfinished potion of harming onto the ground that Tommy and Wilbur stood in. _

_ There was barely any care left in her heart for the higher-ups of L’Manberg.  _

_ To be fair, it didn’t seem like they had any care left for her or the other L’Manbergians either. _

  
  


_ // _

  
  


Running out of breath, Niki discreetly made her way to the plains that held Fundy’s base. Niki stopped to catch her breath when she came across Fundy’s multicolored sheep farm, basking in the glory of how lit this area is to prevent monsters from spawning. Her arrival was perfectly timed as well as her hand began flickering back into existence. As she rested, she observed her surroundings tentatively. From the slight tinge of yellow that gazed upon her from the distance, Niki reckoned that the sun was going to ascend in a short while, so she didn’t have to worry about encountering any more deadly mobs as she still had to walk a short distance to arrive at Fundy’s tower.

Even if Niki didn’t have to be concerned over any mobs lurking around, there was still a twinge of anxiousness within her that thought of the possibility of Fundy not even being in his base in the first place. The idea might’ve just been a deceitful intrusive thought, but knowing the harsh circumstances Fundy was in, it might’ve been plausible. 

Well, Niki couldn’t be stalling for any longer if she wanted to find out about the Fundy’s whereabouts. Sucking in a deep breath, she cracked the bones in her hands and neck before leaving again. As she passed by the colorful sheep that had somehow mysteriously escaped the confines of their enclosures, Niki spotted something orange from a distance. 

  
  


_ // _

  
  


_ As Niki furiously traversed back to her wooden abode, something on her right had caught her eye before she could even enter her house. As it was still early morning, the unknown object was still unclear to Niki, but as she dumbfoundedly approached closer, she spotted a tinge of orange on the creature’s face.  _

_ There was a small sound of a door clicking as this orange creature seemingly exited Niki’s bakery. Highly wary now, Niki withdrew her sword from its holder and raised it courageously as she stepped closer to the unknown figure. There was a slight noise of annoyance from the creature as it seemed to struggle with locking the door once more, and as a simple “fuck” exited the figure’s lips, Niki immediately lowered the sword, knowing who the person was at an instant. _

_ “Fundy?” whispered Niki as her friend emitted a high-pitched yelp while flailing his arms. Niki shoved a hand back in her pocket to retrieve some glowstone she gained from trading with a wanderer and raised it up so that she can see her fox-like friend better. _

_ If Niki thought the heaviness in her chest couldn’t get any more painful, she was surely mistaken, because Fundy’s appearance alone made Niki want to burst into tears. The fox mask Fundy typically wore was almost broken as it was shoved upwards against the side of Fundy’s temple. His outfit wasn’t any better either-- his shirt and his jacket were littered with dirt particles and blood as if he had participated in a million battles while Niki was away. Moreover, Fundy’s hands were all covered in haphazardly applied bandages, and Niki was actually considering the idea that Fundy must’ve participated in some battle one way or another, because otherwise, where would he even get these injuries in the first place? _

_ “Niki,” Fundy whispered back, voice audibly hoarse. When Niki raised the glowstone to let her view Fundy’s face more clearly, an immense feeling of regret wafted through her veins. _

_ Fundy’s face was incredibly sullen, his eyes as red as a spider’s. There was also a visible frown on his face that he tried suppressing as a bandage across his right cheek seemed to be as terribly applied as the bandages on his hands. Additionally, the cloth was completely reddened and tarnished, absolutely soaked to the brim with his own blood. The reason why Fundy didn’t replace the useless bandages was beyond Niki’s comprehension, but seeing Fundy’s injured state only made tears pinprick the corner of Niki’s eyes. _

_ Before Niki could say anything, Fundy swiftly pushed the handful of glowstone away with a dejected expression. “I’m sorry,” he said softly, speedily lowering his mask with one swoop to run away from Niki as fast as he could. Niki wanted to shout his name, to call him back, to give his damn friend the fucking hug he deserved, but as Fundy began disappearing near the spruce trees that surrounded L’Manberg, she knew it would’ve been a risky move. _

_ Niki just stood there for a few moments, mind trying to process what just happened. The only thing that snapped her out of her thoughts was the wetness she felt on her cheeks. She sniffled, promptly wiping the tears that had begun slipping down her face. She shouldn’t be crying; it was Fundy who was stuck in a terrible situation, not her. _

_ “Hey,” she heard a voice from behind her, and judging by the youthful undertone it had, it was obviously Tubbo, “I’m sorry about Fundy, man,” he continued, and Niki felt a warm hand being placed on her shoulder for comfort. _

_ “I--” she spoke, but was immediately overtaken by a whimper that escaped her throat. Tubbo looked at her sympathetically, and Niki was unbelievably grateful that she had someone else by her side to provide comfort. “Tubbo, it-- this wasn’t your fault.” Niki said, and Tubbo’s lips thinned as Niki continued to cry, “I shouldn’t have-- I should’ve been able to protect Fungi better so none of this mess would--would’ve happened! If-- if it weren’t for-- for my fucking  _ stupiditiy _ , Fundy would’ve been safe! He didn’t-- nothing was his fault-- I don’t--” _

_ “Niki, take a deep breath,” Tubbo instructed her to do, and the calmness of his voice helped ease the pain Niki felt within. Niki wiped her tears as she followed Tubbo’s instructions, giving herself ample time to take some short but deep breaths that alleviated the anguish in her chest. When she could finally breathe without being interrupted by a hiccup or a whimper, she finally opened her eyes, ignoring the leftover sting she felt around her eyelids as the tears stopped flowing. _

_ “Do you feel better now?” Tubbo asked innocently, the small smile plastered on his face being the last thing Niki needed to perfectly breathe again. _

_ “Yeah,” Niki replied as a smile of her own crept its way up to her face as well, “Thank you, Tubbo.” _

_ Tubbo patted her twice on the shoulder as his smile grew brighter, “No problem, Nikkity Squickity,” Tubbo said cheerfully, earning a small giggle from Niki.  _

_ As Niki was about to head back to her house whilst feeling extremely exhausted, she felt a light tug on her sleeve. Turning back around, she saw Tubbo with a more neutral expression as his eyes darted towards the bakery. Niki’s eyes widened, realizing that she never actually got a hold of why Fundy entered her bakery in the first place. Niki made a beeline to her bakery’s door, grabbing the key that was in her other pocket to easily unlock it. The knob turned with a soft click and Niki entered carefully and quietly, holding out her hand to find the lever on the wall that switched on all her redstone lamps. Once found and flicked, she observed her surroundings keenly as Tubbo trailed not so far behind Niki.  _

_ Niki first opened her cabinets, finding most of her pastries still intact except for the cookie section which seemed to be missing exactly one stack of cookies. Judging by how crumbs were littered across the floor, it was most likely Fundy who stole the cookies, but obviously, Niki didn’t mind much. _

_ So, Fundy only visited to steal some of her cookies? _

_ Niki’s eyebrows furrowed as she grunted softly— something didn’t add up. _

_ “Niki, you didn’t tell me you had an aquarium in your bakery!” Tubbo exclaimed joyfully, and when Niki turned to face the enthusiastic adolescent, she saw Tubbo delightfully viewing the coral and the fish that resided within the tank. Niki smiled fondly at the child, admiring his ability to get over-excited over the smallest of things. She approached Tubbo, standing next to him as she looked at her fish as well.  _

_ Her aquarium was a pleasant sight as her fish swam calmly beside the new coral she added. One was circling the rose-colored anemones planted at the bottom of the tank as another was chasing it vigorously. A third fish— _

_ Wait. _

_ A third fish? _

_ Niki’s smile immediately dropped as she swiftly raised her hand to place it atop the glass. She looked closer, checking if she was hallucinating, but sure enough, there was a third fish that resided within the tank. Oddly enough, there was a fourth fish as well, happily swimming next to the third fish. _

_ Niki gasped as she realized what might’ve happened to Fundy-- _

_ He fought Sapnap to get Niki’s fish back. _

  
  


_ // _

  
  


Niki hasn’t visited Fundy’s base in a while, but she didn’t remember his base being in complete disarray. His stone tower still stood proudly despite the slight cracks that began emerging after the copious amounts of wars that partook nearby, but the area around the tower looked completely cluttered as if it experienced some kind of apocalypse. The land was filled with mismatched blocks as the dirt, cobblestone, and netherrack blending incongruously to create such a mess. It didn’t help that flocks of multicolored sheep kept chowing down on the grass, making the scenery much less lively than it was before. 

Despite the landfill, there seemed to be some new structures that Fundy implemented around the land. As Niki stood near the entrance of Fundy’s tower, Niki couldn’t help but gawk at the massive colosseum that was implemented directly behind Fundy’s tower. How was Fundy able to build this in the short amount of time that Niki was away? 

Passing by the trees that separated Fundy’s tower and the newly built colosseum, Niki walked cautiously as she gazed at the gigantic building. Despite knowing how quick Fundy must’ve built the colosseum, the building itself looked quite decent for a battleground. Even if majority of the build was made out of cobblestone, Niki was vastly impressed by how the architectural structure must’ve been thoroughly planned out, making the cobblestone look more grand than how it typically looked. The half-destroyed spruce trees and hanging leaves that decorated the edges of the arena also added a nice little dramatic touch to the colosseum. 

What piqued Niki’s interest the most were the netherrack pillars stood at the corners, resembling torches. If it weren’t for the fact that they were freshly lit, Niki might’ve turned away, but newly generated fire meant that someone must’ve been nearby to lit them up, and Niki was incredibly desperate to find Fundy at this instant.

Fortunately, the tinge of orange she spotted a moment ago wasn’t just the fire that sparked above the pillars. There above one of the shriveled trees sat her mischievous friend, mounted above a tree branch as his head leaned tiredly against the trunk. Her friend seemed to be staring off at a distance, not realizing Niki’s presence in the colosseum. In his hand were the stolen cookies from Niki’s bakery. Niki frowned as she watched Fundy numbly eat the cookies, unsure of whether Fundy was dissociating or not.

“Fundy?” Niki called out, causing her friend to jolt and yelp like he did earlier tonight. A cookie that he held was dropped to the ground as Fundy stood and placed his back against the tree in caution. The alarm on his face immediately dissipated when he realized it was Niki who stood below him.

“Niki I--” Fundy cleared his throat as his shoulders slowly stopped tensing, “Niki, you’re not supposed to-- to  _ find _ me.”

“If you were trying to hide, I don’t think being out in the open near your own base is a good hiding spot.”

Fundy looked at her with an unimpressed gaze, “Niki, I’m being serious.” Fundy replied, tone stern. Niki only mimicked the expression on Fundy’s face, but before she can speak up once more, Fundy interrupted her, “You’re literally not supposed to be out here-- Wilbur… Wilbur’s going to be  _ livid _ if he finds out that you snuck out just to find me.”

“I don’t care about Wilbur,” Niki proclaimed, “You’re  _ hurt. _ ”

Niki’s words caused Fundy to visibly flinch and look away, “It… it doesn’t matter.”

Niki’s teeth gritted her teeth upon hearing Fundy’s words, “Yes it matters! You’ve been exiled--” Fundy flinched even harder, “--and you’re hurt, please let me help you.”

“You don’t-- you shouldn’t--” Fundy inhaled deeply, trying to compose himself, “who told you about my… exile?” 

“Tubbo did.”

“Figured,” Fundy murmured, “You should probably know that if someone from L’Manberg is going to see you interacting with me, there’s a possibility of you, uhm--” Fundy paused, frown deepening, “--being kicked out as well.”

The hatred for her nation began to grow ever so slightly within her, “Again, I don’t care.” Niki replied, “I’m going up there--”

“You can’t--”

“I said, I’m going up there.” Niki replied firmly, gazing at Fundy with concern, “Do you have some ladders?” she inquired.

Fundy stared at her defensively before giving into her request, “There should be some behind the tree. I was short one ladder so you might want to reach high for the branch.”

Niki nodded at Fundy’s instructions as she began heading for the back of the tree, quickly climbing the ladders once she pushed some of the vines that got in her way. Fundy wasn’t lying about the last bit as Niki slightly struggled to reach the branch she wanted to grasp on. Luckily, Fundy came to the rescue as he grabbed on Niki’s arms and pulled her to the space right next to his.

For a place Fundy chose to sulk on, the view on this tree was quite spectacular, but Niki shouldn’t be focusing on being mesmerized by the view at this moment. In one of her coat pockets, Niki reached for the healing potions and bandages she prepared for Fundy’s wounds. 

“Drink this,” Niki ordered, handing him the sparkly healing potion. Fundy, surprised by Niki’s slight bossiness, accepted the drink with a nod. “I need you to hold out your hand afterwards so I can replace the bandages.”

Fundy hummed while drinking the potion as a reply, eyes narrowed as he, just like Niki, disliked the taste of the potions. Fundy coughed as he finished, handing the glass bottle back to Niki. The potion was starting to take its effect slowly as Niki noticed that the bruising on the unbandaged areas of Fundy’s face and arms started to lighten gradually. 

“Hands,” Niki spoke once more, and Fundy mumbled an ‘oh right’ before reaching his hands out in front of Niki. Niki worked automatically, her hands moving precisely to do the same bandaging techniques she’d done a thousand times before. Fundy’s eyes slightly widened as he watched Niki replace the bandages casually, making little to no mistakes when she finished.

It took another short while for Niki to finish up bandaging the other arm and Fundy’s right cheek, but once finished, Fundy looked immediately relieved as he moved his forearm to fully survey Niki’s accurate medication skills.

Niki was about to smile until Fundy dropped his arms all of a sudden, shifting his position to look away from Niki. “Are the bandages alright?” Niki inquired, concerned over the sudden change in mood. 

Fundy pursed his lips, pausing for a few moments, “You didn’t need to do that,” Fundy told her, not answering the question. Niki’s eyebrows furrowed in perplexion.

Niki tried reaching a hand as she spoke, “I’m-- Fundy, what do you mean--?”

Unexpectedly, Fundy swatted Niki’s hand away with a scowl, “You shouldn’t-- you’re not supposed to care about me, Niki!” Fundy exclaimed with intense anguish present on his face, “I’m not… I’ve been such a  _ failure  _ lately… did you-- did you know that?”

Fundy gazed at Niki with glossy eyes, lip quivering as his chin crinkled. Niki slowly let out a breath as she remained quiet, hoping Fundy will continue talking to her. Niki has never remembered witnessing Fundy in such a vulnerable and fragile state-- he did a damn good job suppressing any negative emotions that bubbled up to the surface. Niki didn’t even remember seeing Fundy cry during Fungi’s wake, merely gazing at the gravestone with the most disheartened expression on his face. Even if Niki left him alone to mourn, Fundy remained still, just watching and withholding emotions, watching and withholding emotions.

Niki needed him to break, to let it all out, to allow himself to have something just for  _ once _ . He’d been in the shadow of Wilbur and Tommy for so long that it pained Niki to see him suppress his own hurt.

“I’ve just…” Fundy huffed, one of his hands raising to hold his chin and mouth nervously. “I feel like I fucked up, Niki.” 

“Can you tell me what happened?”

“I--” Fundy’s voice cracked, making him wince slightly as he cleared his throat afterwards, “I’ve been losing everything I love one by one, Niki. I went to have my own little journey for a while and when I came back, everything just went apeshit.” Fundy combed his hair anxiously, “I left Fungi defenseless, my enderman and sheep defenseless, Beelloon--” Fundy gulped nervously, eyes closed and eyebrows knitted together in sorrow, “The deaths of our pets keep piling one by one and I can’t help but--”

Fundy stopped himself, inhaling sharply yet shakily as he rubbed his eyes with both hands. Once the hands lowered, visible teardrops began seeping through his eyelids. While rubbing furiously at his eyes, Fundy continued rambling, “And Wilbur-- God,  _ Wilbur _ .” Fundy murmured with a tone of regret, “Wilbur fucking  _ hates _ me now for going against him, and I still somewhat stand by my beliefs and all, but I just-- I’m considering taking that back because I miss L’Manberg so  _ badly _ .” Fundy bawled, eyes finally looking back at Niki. Niki couldn’t help but let herself tear up as well, sharing the same sentiments as Fundy. “Y’know the times where we fought for justice righteously? When we fought for peace and prosperity? I miss it so  _ much _ , I miss it when we were genuinely happy, Niki, and I’m scared that me revolting against Wilbur just pushed him to be a guy I don’t recognize at  _ all _ .”

“And Tommy! Tommy’s getting there too, and he’s a fucking child, Niki! A sixteen-year-old child shouldn’t be overtaken with corruption-- he’s a fucking  _ sixteen-year-old _ . And they’re going to drag Tubbo and Jack along with them, and I’m-- and I’m--” Fundy choked, letting out a pathetic whimper as his tears increased by an alarming amount. Fundy quickly slapped both of his hands on his mouth as he curled into himself.

“I’m gonna lose everything I love, Niki,” he murmured through tears, “And you-- y- you’re--”

Niki couldn’t help herself at this point. With her heart painfully yearning to help her exhausted friend out, she quickly wrapped her arms around the man, pulling him close into her grasp. Instead of protesting or whining, Fundy submitted himself to the embrace, digging his head onto Niki’s shoulder as he wept. Niki combed through his hair soothingly, hoping it could relieve some of the pain Fundy has been bottling for months. Fundy only cried harder, tears staining the coat Niki was wearing.

“I’m here, Fundy,” Niki whispered, “I’m not leaving, I’m never going to leave you.”

The two remained like that for a short while, comforting each other in their warm embraces as they let each other cry their hurt and pain out. While Niki had experienced warm hugs like these from Jack and Tubbo from time to time, she couldn’t help but wonder if Fundy himself got the comfort he deserved after selflessly participating in all the wars and battles he’s been through. 

(Judging by how tight Fundy’s grip was on Niki’s coat, Niki assumed that maybe he hasn’t experienced a hug like this before. Sighing, Niki continued to hug Fundy tighter, rubbing soothing circles on his back as he cried.)

It was only when the sun started to ascend when Fundy began to regain composure once more. The constant trembling and hiccuping eventually seized, and Niki could tell how exhausted he must’ve become as he tiredly limped against Niki’s shoulder. 

After some awkward patting, Fundy finally spoke up. “The sun looks pretty from up here,” he said with a hoarse voice, lifting his head up from Niki’s shoulder. Niki averted her gaze from Fundy to look at the sunrise from afar. With her mouth slightly agape, she gawked at the sunrise. 

Eventually, after watching the sun come up for a few seconds, Niki replied, “Yeah, agreed.”

Silence was shared between the two as they continued watching the sunrise. Despite their immense exhaustion, the atmosphere shared between the pair was serene, the calmest they’ve ever felt in the past few weeks. It was like nothing ever happened, and all the painful memories of grief and darkness all evaporated into nothing.

“I, uhm,” Fundy spoke, “Thank you for that, Niki, uhm, I didn’t--” Fundy grunted, “Oh who am I kidding, I really fucking needed that-- thank you so much.”

“And thank you too,” Niki replied with no further explanation. Fundy gazed at her with a cocked eyebrow for a moment, obviously confused by the statement, but after a second or two, the eyebrow lowered, and Niki received an understanding nod and a half-smile from Fundy. 

Seeing the sun at its peak from afar as its rays shone beautifully across their kingdom’s plains, Niki let out a sigh of relief. Niki knew that she was immensely terrified of wickedness, terrified of her friends passing away or succumbing to grim darkness. But as the sun’s light glimmered directly above her and Fundy, Niki (and mayhaps Fundy as well) realized that maybe finding the light once more at the darkest of times wasn’t impossible after all.

**Author's Note:**

> heyo, thanks for reaching it this far! leave a kudos and comment if ya enjoyed!
> 
> follow me [@appleflavoredkitkats](https://appleflavoredkitkats.tumblr.com/) on tumblr and send me asks if you wanna chat abt my fic/mcyt shit in general!


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